Wynton Marsalis in Town Preparing for Fall Premiere with Garth Fagan Dance

Grammy-winning musician and composer Wynton Marsalis is in Rochester this week, rehearsing with Garth Fagan Dance.

Wynton Marsalis has composed an original score for Fagan's latest work, called Lighthouse - Lightning Rod. It premieres next week in New York City. But this is the first time the dancers and musicians have been in the same room together. Fagan's artistic and administrative liaison Bill Ferguson says there's a lot of tension in the studio.

"Everybody's nervous about how they are going to perform," Ferguson says. "The musicians want to make sure the sound is perfect for us. We want to make sure that the dance is perfect for them."

The Wynton Marsalis Septet will be here in Rochester through Friday, September 21 rehearsing with the dancers. Both Marsalis and Fagan are scheduled to appear live on 1370 Connection on Friday at noon.

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Tony winning choreographer Garth Fagan is starting to put together a new dance.

He knows what it’s going to look like, at least in broad strokes. But he doesn’t know what it’s going to sound like yet. That’s because he’s asked a friend of his to write an original piece for the dance. The friend is Grammy winning jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, and he’s not finished yet.